Czech Defence News of the Week (23rd – 30th August 2019)

Author: fb Ministerstvo obrany Slovenskej republiky|Caption: Slovak Army parade, 75th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising

The 75th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (1944) commemorated in Prague and in Banská Bystrica. – An intergovernmental, Czech-Polish, agreement on cooperation in the field of military aviation signed. - The international exhibition of military equipment MSPO 2019, which is one of the largest in Europe, will take place on 3rd – 6th September in Kielce, Poland.

• On Monday, 26^th August, a commemorative meeting was held in Prague at the occasion of the 75^th  anniversary of the uprising in Slovakia. The Slovak National Uprising was an armed action of anti-fascist forces in Slovakia in the autumn of 1944. It was a reaction to the fact that the clerofascist Slovak state was an ally and vassal of Nazi Germany and an expression of the Slovak desire to restore existence within free Czechoslovakia. The uprising, joined by about 60 thousand soldiers and 18 thousand partisans, was initiated by the Slovak National Council. Although the uprising was suppressed by the Germans after two months of fighting, it had considerable military and political significance for the late phase of WW2 in Europe.

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• Minister of Defence Lubomír Metnar and Chief of General Staff of the Army of the Czech Republic General Aleš Opata attended the 75^th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising in Banská Bystrica on 29^th August. The program included a ceremonial military parade with the participation of more than 2000 soldiers and 200 military vehicles.

• On Wednesday, 28^th August, a joint meeting of the governments of the Czech and Polish Republics took place in Warsaw. Minister of Defence Lubomír Metnar met separately at a bilateral meeting with his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak. “Our relations with Poland are excellent. We train together, contribute to EU Battlegroup, build a V4 logistics center. Good relations are also evidenced by the signed intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the field of military aviation,” Lubomír Metnar said.

• The international exhibition of military equipment MSPO (Międzynarodowy Salon Przemysłu Obronnego) 2019, which is one of the largest in Europe, will take place on 3^rd – 6^th September in Kielce, Poland. Even this year, the companies of the CZECHOSLOVAK GROUP (CSG) holding, which are traditional exhibitors at this fair, will take part in it. At this 26^th MSPO, held under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, EXCALIBUR ARMY, CS SOFT and MSM GROUP together with TATRA TRUCKS will present their production. EXCALIBUS ARMY will present its brand new Patriot II APC, which had its world premiere at IDET 2019. TATRA TRUCKS will bring a 4x4 chassis platform of the TATRA FORCE series. CS SOFT will present several of its software products: the air traffic control system ALS 3.0 or the ATC simulator which accurately simulates the air traffic controller workstation.

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